Improvement in railways



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PELATIAH OSGOOD, OF WATERVILLE, MAINE.

IMPROVEM ENT IN RAI LWAYS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 48,976, dated July 25,1865.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, PELATIAH OsGooD, of Waterville, in the county ofKennebec and State of Maine, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Railways; and I do hereby declare that the followingdescription, taken in connection with the accompanying plate ofdrawings, hereinafter referred to, forms a full and exact specificationof thesarne, wherein I have set forth the nature and principles of mysaid improvements, by which my invention may be distinguished from allothers of a similar class, together with such parts as I claim anddesire to have secured to me by Letters Patent.

The present invention has for its object the dispensing inrailway-tracks with the use of the frogs now employed.

Where it is necessary to have a connection between a series of tracks afrog has heretofore been' indispensable; but its use involves not onlyconsiderable expense in its first cost, but a large outlay arising fromthe wear and tear of the running-geerbt' the railway-carriages whilepassing over the frogs. By my improvements I so form the communicationbetween one or more tracks as to make a continuous and unbrokencommunication between them, and in such a manner that the wheels of thecar are subject to no more jar or wear than in passing over any otherportion of the track. l

My improvements are represented in the accompanying plate ot'V drawings,of which Figure l is a top view ot' my improved railway-track, and Fig.2 a side view of the same.

a a and b b in the drawings represent two separate railway-tracks thatare to be connected or put in communication with a track, c c, common toboth.

l d is the switch, operated by the connecting-bars ee and lever-handlefin the usual manner, the switch-rails d d turning upon pivots at g g.

pivots r r. The movable rail q q turns upon a center at s,- but it isevident that this central bearing may, if desired, be dispensed with, asthe movable rail q q is firmly held in position by the diverging arms pp.

- It will be seen from the foregoing description that by turning theswitch-rails d d the movable rail g q, through the medium ot' thedevices hereinabove described, can be so operated as to come into linewith either of the tracks a a and b'b, and form an unbroken connectionbetween either of the said tracks and the track c c, common toboth,thereby entirely dispensing with the use of the cumbersome andotherwise objectionable frog, the wheels of the carriage, in passingover the movable rail, being subjected to no more jar than at any otherp0rtion of the track, thereby enabling the speed of the train to be keptup instead of being abated, as has heretofore been necessary in runningover a frog.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to have secured to me byLetters Patent, is

The use of the movable or swinging rail operated with regard to thetrack c c by means lof the armspp, drum h, bands Z l, lever-handle f,and connecting-bars e e, substantially as de scribed.

PELATIAH OSGOOD.

Witnesses JOSEPH GAVETT, SAMUEL M. BARTON.

